Why You Should Support Relegalization of Marijuana

Indiana spends $150 Million dollars every year locking up pot smokers.[1]

Marijuana is not a dangerous substance. Studies by institutions such as the Institute of Medicine[2] and the Rand Corporation[3] have proven that Marijuana doesn’t lead to stronger substances. It has been shown to cure cancer, not cause it.[4] No one has ever died from ingesting Marijuana in the history of mankind.[5]

Marijuana prohibition was born in racism. The real target was stopping non-psychoactive Hemp from being used for fuel, fiber and paper. Hemp had been a mainstay of the American economy since the beginning of the republic. A cabal of industrialists, coordinated by head of the old Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, Harry Anslinger, used the racism of the 1930’s to make Hemp and Marijuana de facto illegal. Anslinger made such statements as: “There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.” He also said: “Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men” and “…the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.” [6]

In 2013, According to the American Civil Liberties Union, African Americans are arrested nearly four times as often as White Americans when usage rates are about the same.[7]

Private prisons profit from Marijuana prohibition. GEO made overtures to the Indiana government, offering a 20% reduction in criminal justice system expenditures if the State guaranteed 90% occupancy. This is a common practice across the country. [8] Private prisons have little oversight, and the cost savings to states is down to about $2.75 per inmate per day.[9] There is no incentive to rehabilitate, and the private prison employs workers at between nine and 12 cents per hour to produce products sold at fair market value. Marijuana smokers make easy targets to become slave labor. This isn’t good for society.

What about the children? The street corner dealer doesn’t ask for proof of age. Many teens say it’s much easier to get Marijuana than alcohol or tobacco. Under regulation, where proof of age is required, it will be much more difficult for adolescents to obtain Marijuana.[10]

Our individual liberties are at stake. In the face of thousands of studies showing the safety of Marijuana, government still presumes it has the right to tell you what you can or cannot put into your own body. There is no victim from Marijuana use, so how can there be a crime? [11]